The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for selecting a single memory device or a group (bank) of memory devices in an integrated circuit memory system.
Memory devices are constantly evolving in the directions of faster speed and higher memory density. To this end, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices have evolved from simple DRAM devices to EDO to SDRAM to DDR SDRAM to SLDRAM, the latter of which is the subject of much current industry interest. SLDRAM has a high sustainable bandwidth, low latency, low power, user upgradability and support for large hierarchical memory applications. It also provides multiple independent banks, fast read/write bus turn-around, and the capability for small fully pipelined bursts.
An overview of SLDRAM devices can be found in the specification entitled xe2x80x9cSLDRAM Architectural and Functional Overview,xe2x80x9d by Gillingham, 1997 SLDRAM Consortium (Aug. 29, 1997), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Improvements in speed and memory density of SLDRAM and other contemporary memory devices have uncovered limitations in current schemes for addressing a specific memory device or a group of memory devices in a memory system, for example during calibration, testing, or READ and WRITE operations involving a single memory device. Such limitations include degradations in efficiency resulting from unnecessarily high power consumption.
For example, in order for one current memory system to complete an operation, such as a READ or WRITE operation, the memory controller may identify a particular memory device or a group of memory devices with which to perform the operation, encode the identification information in commands, and transmit the commands including the identification information to the device or group of devices. In one prior art system memory system, each individual device is assigned a unique ID code and each command contains an embedded ID code designating the intended recipient device(s) for that command. The memory controller then transmits every command to all devices in the system, and each device is required to capture and decode every command in order to determine whether the current command applies to that device. This scheme results in unnecessary power consumption and consequent loss of efficiency where high-speed data capture circuitry at each device is used to receive and decode commands irrelevant to that device.
Another selection scheme, used by SDRAM systems, does not allow for selection of an individual device but does allow for selection of a group of devices (e.g., all devices on a memory module) using designated chip-select lines connecting the memory controller to each group of devices in the system. Selection is accomplished by transmitting a chip select signal on the chip select lines, concurrently with or immediately before a command is transmitted on the command and address bus, by the memory controller, to each memory module associated with the group of memory devices to be selected. When a memory module receives a chip select signal, all memory devices on that module associated with the selected group capture and decode the command transmitted by the memory controller. For example, if two groups of devices coexist on one module, only those devices in the selected group may capture and decode the command. Because several memory devices are customarily associated with each group, this scheme does not allow selection of individual memory devices because a chip select signal line per device or other impractical solution would be needed.
The above-mentioned and other limitations in current device selection schemes created a need and desire for an improved scheme of selecting a particular memory device or group of devices for calibration or other operations, such as READ and WRITE operations.
The present invention provides a novel method and associated apparatus for selecting a memory device or a group of memory devices in a memory system using a combination of dedicated bank select signals and encoded chip select signals. The bank select signals permit a memory controller to activate the capture and decode circuitry at groups (banks) of memory devices, and the encoded chip select signals select individual memory devices or groups of memory devices, allowing the selected devices to respond to commands transmitted on the command and address bus. Capture and decode circuitry at banks not receiving the bank select signal are not activated, thus avoiding unnecessary capturing and decoding operations and associated power consumption. Furthermore, the use of encoded chip select signals preserves the ability to address an individual memory device while using a practical number of signal lines.
The above and other features and advantages of the invention are achieved by providing a plurality of bank select signal lines connecting the memory controller of a memory system with a plurality of respective groups, or xe2x80x9cbanks,xe2x80x9d of memory devices. All memory devices in the memory system are assigned to at least one bank, and thus each bank select signal line may be used to select one group of memory devices for particular operations, such as calibration or READ and WRITE operations, to be performed only at the memory devices in that group. The bank select signal lines are separate and distinct from the command and address bus and the bidirectional data bus, both of which connect each memory device in the system with the memory controller. In operation, the memory controller transmits a bank select signal using a bank select signal line to a particular bank of memory devices, thus xe2x80x9cselectingxe2x80x9d that bank. The memory devices in the selected bank are thereby alerted by the bank select signal to activate their capture and decode circuitry connected to the command and address bus. When the memory controller next transmits command and address data on the command and address bus, only the memory devices in the xe2x80x9cselectedxe2x80x9d bank have their capture and command decode circuitry activated and may as a consequence capture and decode the transmitted command and address data.
The invention permits selection of a single memory device through the use of encoded chip (device) select signals transmitted using the command and address bus. Using a combination of bank select signals transmitted on the bank select signal lines and device select signals transmitted on the command and address bus, the memory controller may select one specific device in the system for a particular operation, such as initialization, calibration, decoding command data, or READ and WRITE operations.
Another aspect of the invention permits the memory controller or other system component to assign an identification value to each memory device in the system, for comparison with an ID embedded in the device select signals. The identification value assigned to each memory device is stored in an ID register which may be located at the associated memory device, at the memory controller, at other components in the system, such as a motherboard or motherboard connector, or at a combination of these locations. The identification value may be compared with device select signals to select a single device or a group of devices in the system for a particular operation or set of operations.